Lunch at Satsuma Shimuja Miami

Interior, Satsuma Shimuja, Miami

Satsuma Shimuja (Shimuja) is a restaurant in the lower Brickell area of Miami that specializes in Japanese cuisine, specifically, ramen. What is ramen you may ask. It is a noodle-based broth seasoned with soy sauce or miso, and finished with a variety of toppings. Shimuja’s parent restaurant is located in the Kagoshima prefecture of Japan, an ancient southern port island area that is known for it’s subtropical climate and unique Japanese cuisine.

The interior of Shimuja is minimalist, with a few booths, high tops and spaces at the bar. I found the entrance to the commodes amusing, the gateway to them through a 1940s General Electric refrigerator door.

We ordered a few things from their Menu with the help of our server. If you click on the menu link, please scroll down until you see the Miami offerings. The first was the pork bun. These were steamed buns made from yeast, sugar, flour and baking soda filled with Chashu, or braised pork belly, mayo and lettuce. The buns were perfection, absolutely delicious and one of the best parts of the meal.

Pork buns, perfection

We then ventured onto the ramen offerings. The restaurant offers three different types of ramen, two pork and one seafood based. The server recommended two ramen dishes, the shiro sohyu and the tonkotsu. We were told both of these dishes would give us a good sense of the ramen bowls served here, which was spot on.

The Shiro Sohyu (clear soy sauce) ramen was one we sampled. One would use shiro sohyu when you would want soy sauce flavor but not it’s traditional color. This dish was based on a Kombu broth, one made from kelp that is full of glutamic acid and gives a sunami of umami, or a savory sense of taste. This dish was served with of course noodles, scallions, bamboo shoots, hard-boiled egg, nori, fish cake, chicken and Chashu pork. Very good but a bit mild for my tastes.

Tonkotsu ramen

The tonkotsu ramen is made from pork broth, scallions, Japanese mushrooms and Chashu pork. It was my favorite of the two ramen dishes, and was delicious.

The restaurant also serves a Kagoshima special, a fortified tonkotsu ramen. We passed on the server’s recommendation which for sampling the menu, was a good one as this dish is just a “jumbo” version of the tonkotsu.

The food at Satsuma Shimuja was very good and I am glad my dining companion and I were able to sample their wares. I would go back without hesitation.

It’s a wrap for another post on Forks.

Satsuma Shimuja500 Brickell Ave.Miami, FL 33131(786)623-3555Shimuja Web Site

All major credit cards accepted; Open Monday-Wednesday 12 AM-12 PM; Thursday-Saturday, 12 AM-1 AM and Sunday 12 AM-11 PM

Early twentieth century General Electric refrigerator door, Satsuma Samuja

Shiro Shoyu ramen